A Year Later
by LocalXmusicXjellybeanX
Summary: She then reminded Jimmy that he had some big shoes to fill left by his brother - 'Smallville'. A year later, everything has changed. Kaden Hudson walks into McKinley knowing that he couldn't fill his half brothers shoes, but if he tried hard enough, he could still hear his brothers voice. *May contain S.5 spoilers of 'The Quarterback'. *
1. Chapter 1

I honestly have no idea where this is going. I do however know that I intend to finish this story. My first thought was to set this as an SYOC, but thought, I would make a story without other people's characters.

I will however say that I got the idea from last nights episode. This story will be set one year afterward with Finn's half brother, Kaden now attending McKinley.

Prologue / Intro

I walk the hallways of McKinley High. The same one that my half brother, Finn Hudson had walked. Walking down the hallway, I easily find his locker, due to the huge part of students who knew him leaving behind their respect.

I stop by the memorial for a moment, to talk to him, though I didn't know him.

"Hi Finn. I know, that we didn't really know each other. Well matter of fact, I should correct that. We didn't know each other at all," I tell him, and then I stop. I ran out of words. "I'm Kaden, and I'm your half brother," I add. Then I head for class.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At the end of my first day, I headed to the auditorium. I needed to get the words out. The ones I had stuck in my head. Being as I was the only one in the auditorium, I let go.

_Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world_

_She took the midnight train goin' anywhere_

_Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit_

_He took the midnight train goin' anywhere_

_A singer in a smokey room_

_A smell of wine and cheap perfume_

_For a smile they can share the night_

_It goes on and on and on and on_

_ Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard_

_Their shadows searching in the night_

_Streetlights people, living just to find emotion_

_Hiding, somewhere in the night._

_Working hard to get my fill,_

_Everybody wants a thrill_

_Payin' anything to roll the dice,_

_Just one more time_

_Some will win, some will lose_

_Some were born to sing the blues_

_Oh, the movie never ends_

_It goes on and on and on and on _

"I heard the late Finn Hudson sang that song and took the New Directions, the show choir here, with it to Nationals and they won," I hear someone announce.

"Thanks, I had the song in head for ages now, and I needed to get it out," I tell the shoulder length blond haired blue eyed girl, as she comes closer the stage.

"You should be in the show choir, you have the voice for it," she adds. That's where I couldn't announce who I was. It wasn't that I was ashamed, it just that I wasn't ready to have everyone know who I was.

"I have homework to get to," I tell the girl, using it as an excuse to get away from the girl, though it wasn't technically an excuse. Who would have guessed that McKinley had so much homework on their agenda?

* * *

"How was your first day at McKinley?" asks Burt, as I enter the house, still having Journey stuck in my head.

"It was though, honestly, I don't know how Finn ever did it. I got shoved into lockers, was late to just about every class, the psycho art teacher hates me, and," I began, but I couldn't admit to Burt, that I didn't try to communicate with anyone.

"You and Finn seemed to have that in common, more than you think you did," Burt tells me, with a weak smile.

"I stopped by the memorial, the one that the school put up for him. I even talked to him," I tell him happily, as though that would make everything seem happier.

Just at the moment, Carole, entered the living room.

"How was?" she began the question, but I had cut her off. I didn't mean to, it was just habit, being as I had lived with someone else, until it turned out that I was related to Carole, because I was Finn's half brother, and it's complicated.

"Kaden Oliver Hudson," Carole warned. I knew I was in trouble.

"I need to work on getting better, don't I?" I asked, though I knew what she was going to say.

"Yes, you do," she agreed.

"Carole, I know, I just got here a week ago, and I've been using the guest room, and I was wondering," I began, but I had guessed that Carole and Burt had guessed what I was thinking.

"And you wanted to know if you could have Finn's room?" Burt finished for me, as he looked at Carole, and then smiled.

"I suppose it's been empty long enough. The drum set has been collecting dust long enough," Carole speaks up with a smile.

"I promise I won't play it, if you don't me to," I speak up, letting them know how I had thought about the drums. "I brought my guitar," I add with an innocent smile.

"Kaden, you may have the room," Carole tells me with a smile. "Now go unpack," he tells me, as she looks up the stairs.

"I only had a bag of clothes, and my guitar with me, when I showed up. Remember?" I point out, as I head towards what was now my old room.

After collecting my stuff from the other room, I enter my new room, and happily see that the had left some memories in the room. Pictures of Finn at prom. Sectionals. Nationals. Him with his girlfriend. Drum sticks. Of course, they had been pretty dusty, but what had I expected? The room hadn't been touched for a year.

I get settled in, and sit on what I had been his room. Even though, I had been told I could be in here, I still felt out of place.

"Thanks bro, I'll take care of this room. Promised," I tell Finn, though, I knew he was nowhere around.

I get up to sit to get my guitar, and then sit back on his bed, and begin to strum my guitar, until I found myself playing a cover, I hadn't played in a while. _Cat's in the Cradle_ by Harry Chapin.

_My child arrived just the other day_

_He came to the world in the usual way_

_But there were planes to catch and bills to pay_

_He learned to walk while I was away_

_And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew_

_He'd say "I'm gonna be like you, Dad_

_You know I'm gonna be like you"_

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon_

_Little boy blue and the man on the moon_

_When you comin' home, Dad_

_I don't know when, but we'll get together then_

_You know we'll have a good time then_

_My son turned ten just the other day_

_He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play_

_can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today_

_I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok_

_And he walked away but his smile never dimmed_

_And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah_

_You know I'm gonna be like him"_

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon_

_Little boy blue and the man on the moon_

_When you comin' home, Dad_

_I don't know when, but we'll get together then_

_You know we'll have a good time then_

_Well, he came from college just the other day_

_So much like a man I just had to say_

_"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while"_

_He shook his head and said with a smile_

_"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys_

_See you later, can I have them please"_

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon_

_Little boy blue and the man on the moon_

_When you comin' home son_

_I don't know when, but we'll get together then, Dad_

_You know we'll have a good time then_

_I've long since retired, my son's moved away_

_I called him up just the other day_

_I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"_

_He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time_

_You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu_

_But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad_

_It's been sure nice talking to you"_

_And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me_

_He'd grown up just like me_

_My boy was just like me_

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon_

_Little boy blue and the man in the moon_

_When you comin' home son_

_I don't know when, but we'll get together then, Dad_

_We're gonna have a good time then_

"I hope you don't mind me overhearing, but you sound just like your brother did," Carole tells me. I didn't even know that she was listening.

"No. No trouble at all. I just wish I had known him, you know," I point out to Carole.

"If you ever want to know about him, don't be afraid to ask. He was and is your brother," she tells me, as she gives me a hug. "Matter of fact, you look almost like him, except for your blond hair. He had brown, and was a bit taller," she adds.

"Thanks. Just one question for now," I tell her, as I turn to look at the picture of him and the brown haired girl.

"Who is that girl?" I ask curiously.

"That was his one true love. She broke his heart more than once, but they always found their way back to each other," she tells me.

"Thanks Carole," I tell her, as she turns to leave the room, and go back downstairs to join Burt.

"Dinner will be ready shortly, if you want something to eat," she tells me before she shuts the door, and leaves.

* * *

I had originally planned on making this chapter a tad bit longer, but I changed my mind. There will be a reason for it, in the next chapter. Also in the next chapter, we will find out who the girl was/is.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

First, and foremost, thank you. Honestly aside from one reader/reviewer, I hadn't expected even five reviews. I know it isn't much, but to me, that's more than I had expected. Also, I know that these chapters are short, but trust me, at some point they will get longer. Probably after he joins glee, if I decide for him to do so.

Later on, there will be a Corey Haim reference, but that will be because he had so many similarities to Cory Monteith, and they both went through drug problems, and other problems, also I will point out, that he is and was one of my favorite actors. Later on, you will find out as to why he talks to Finn, as though he is a ghost, and no it's not because he's a ghost, or alive.

* * *

"Sorry, I didn't show for dinner last night," I tell Carole quickly, as I end up downstairs, all ready for school.

"No worries, besides, you were out cold by the time Burt came up to check on you," she adds, as she finishes getting ready for work.

"I'll just grab a pop-tart from the cupboard, and head to school," I tell her, as I grab a pop-tart, and rush out the door.

"I expected you'd show up. The new students always show up to the classes that the expect to be interesting," I hear the familiar voice of the girl I was talking to yesterday.

"It's only my first day of photography. I figured, I'd ditch all my classes yesterday," I tell her sarcastically, as I spike my hair a bit.

"You suck at sarcasm, but aside that, I never got your name yesterday," she tells me, as I shut my locker.

"Great, my second day here, and I already have a stalker," I tell her, avoiding my name, and ignoring her sarcasm remark.

"Fine, whatever. I'm Maggie, in case you were wondering," she tells me, as she picks up a camera, and tries it out, as though, she was going to shoot pictures with it.

"You're not planning on taking pictures of me with that, are you?" I ask teasing her.

"Only if you plan on giving me your name, and I don't see that happening anytime soon," she tells me. Then someone else comes in, and wraps his arms around her. He stood about six teen, and had auburn colored hair. His green eyes seemed familiar.

"You ready for tonight's game?" he asks happily, as he goes in for the kiss, that I had feared was coming.

"I'm going to be photographing it, so yeah," she answers back, and then kisses him back, as he sits down beside her.

"What about you, kid? You coming to tonight's game?" Maggie's boyfriend asks, as though he was hoping I would say yes.

"What position do you play?" I ask curiously, as I had realized that I might go.

"Quarterback, I'm number eighty three," he tells me, as though that were supposed to mean something. Ok, so Finn was a football player, and I didn't pay attention to the sport, but still. I had to ask.

"Emmett Webster," he adds happily, as though it was something I would have to keep my mind on while I was at the game, but being me, I finally decided to reveal my name.

"Kaden," I tell him, as I didn't want to reveal my last name. I wasn't sure if he would be the type to give me the unwanted sympathy or not.

"Well Kaden, see you at the game," he tells me, as we finish our photography class, and head towards our lockers to get our stuff for our next classes.

I didn't want to attend the football game. Not now. Not ever. As I pass the water fountain, near the end of the hall, I see a flier for theater auditions. At that, I knew I had to try it. There was no way, I was passing that up.

"Interested in theater?" I hear a girl ask behind me.

I turn around to see a girl with dyed neon pink hair, and spiked, as though she had been trying to Cos-play.

"Yeah, aside playing my bass guitar, it's one of my talents, though, I haven't been in very many plays, because I had to move around a lot," I tell the neon pink haired girl, though it wasn't the exact truth.

"Military Brat?" she asks guessing, as her hazel eyes meet mine for a second, then she looked around for something else.

"Something like that," I lied to her. I hated lying, but at the moment, it was all I had.

"What is the play, anyways?" I ask curiously, as I look at her again.

"No one knows. Since Sue Sylvester tried taking away theater club last year, we've been keeping the plays hush hush," she tells me in a quiet voice.

"I'm guessing Shakespeare," I tell her, as I quickly smile.

The bell rings again.

"What class do you have next?" she asks just to change the subject.

"Literature, so I imagine fifty two minutes learning about dead people," I tell her, as I giggle a small bit.

"Wow, Haley Joel was sooo 1999," she tells me, as she fakes pushes me out of the way, and then giggles.

"Damn, you figured out my secret identity," I tell her joking. "So you must be Kara Kent," I add.

"Shhh! I'm undercover," she remarks, as we walk into the classroom together, only then did I realize that we had the same class together.

"So you're the gay kid," I hear someone from the back of the room announce.

"Umm what?" I ask sounding confused, and then I looked at the girl I named Kara Kent.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asks him sarcastically, and then we walked back towards the back of the room.

"I don't think it's his business," she tells me, as we sit down and she rolls her eyes.

A few minutes later, the teacher walked in.

"Alright ladies and gents, I know, you're in a hurry to read what is next," Mr. Ainsworth announces to class. Well the ones that were paying attention anyways.

"Not really," remarks the boy who addressed Kara as the gay kid.

"Lucas Haim, I would advise, you to either pay attention in class, or I'll make sure that you don't play in tonight's game, and I'm sure that Coach Beist wouldn't want that," Mr. Ainsworth lets the boy know where he stood.

"Now as I was saying, is there anyone here, who has read a book called _the Outsiders_?" he asks, as he looks around the class room. Of course they have, they just didn't want to admit it. I mean, who in high school hadn't read it? It was a classic for a reason.

"No one? I'm shocked. Well then, as of today, I will have one class that has read the book," he says, as though he knew which students hadn't admitted to reading the book.

The bell went off, and then we headed towards the lunch room.

"What was that all about with Lucas?" I asked curious.

"He thinks he's the king of the senior class," she tells me, as we get out of view of the classroom, and we seemed to be the only two in the secluded area. Then I realized we were in the auditorium.

"What's your real name?" I ask, as I smile, and then look down at the stage, being as we were sitting on the floor, instead of the seats.

"Alice Winchell," she tells me, looking me in the eyes. "Now yours, and not just your first name, I want to know your last," she adds with a smile.

"Kaden," I tell her, still not telling her my last name.

"What's so bad, that you don't want to tell me. I already know that you didn't grow up a military brat," she lets me know that she knows that much already. "I won't tell. I promise," she assures me, as she takes my hand and holds it.

"Hudson. Finn Hudson, was and is my half brother, it's complicated," I reveal to her, as I mess up my hair with my hand, and look her in the eyes.

"Wait, you're Finn Hudson's half brother? Do you realize how popular you would be?" she asks me, as though she suddenly realized who I was, and that was exactly why I didn't want to tell her who I was.

"Yes, and maybe I don't want to be popular," I tell her, still kind of pissed at myself for telling her.

"Neither did he, but he was. He also took New Directions to Nationals and they won, he was the Quarterback, and he was Finn Hudson," she tells me.

I stay quiet for a moment, and then speak up. "It's been a year, and I still," I began, and then looked down at the floor again.

"Miss him? Everybody misses him, even Mr. Schue, the director of New Directions misses him," she tells me.

"I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind," I quote Hamlet to change the subject.

"Hamlet, Act three scene four," Alice tells me, as I realize that she is still holding my hand, and then she smiles at me again.

"Just a question, if the game is still going on, when we get done with tryouts tonight, would you like to go to the football game with me? I kind of got volunteered to go," I reveal to Alice, all at once. She was the only one who knew who I really was, and I kind of wanted to keep it that way.

"Is that an offering for a date?" she asks me jokingly.

"No," I answer more in a question, than an answer, because I didn't know why she would want to know that, when we just met an hour and a half ago.

"Good, because, I don't date a boy I just met an hour and a half ago," she tells me. Then the bell rang announcing the last half of the day, and I realized I hadn't eaten anything, and it would be a while until I would go home and eat something.

After I had talked to Alice, I hadn't talked to anyone. I wasn't sure that I would want to. I just wanted to to theater tryouts, and head home. I would come up with an excuse about the football game, if I had to, but I wasn't going, even though I asked Alice to it.

"Maggie, I'm sorry, but I won't be attending the game tonight," I tell her at the end of the day.

"Why on earth not?" she asks sounding worried.

"I'm not feeling good. I think, ate something at lunch that didn't agree with me," I tell her, as I fake show her that I wasn't feeling good in the stomach.

"I'm sorry, I was expecting you to show, but I hope you feel better," she tells me, then she walks away headed to the football field to cheer Emmett and the boys on.

"There you are," I hear Alice, as I walk in the auditorium, and see that the glee club wouldn't be using it.

"Yeah, I changed my mind about the football game," I tell her, as we walk down near the stage.

"What was your excuse?" she asks, as though she knew I came up with an excuse to ditch.

"I'm sick," I tell her. She caught on, knowing I was faking.

"Good, because, I was going to stand you up anyways," she reveals to me.

"Good, because, I wasn't going to go, because of the obvious," I tell her.

"So what are going for?" I ask, after I take a deep breath, and see that so far we were the only two in the auditorium.

"Hamlet, it's looking like," she tells me, as though she had known this since this morning when we talked.

"Well then, I audition for Hamlet," I tell her, and then the director walked in, and took a seat down by the front, so she could see better.

"Did I hear you announce an audition for Hamlet?" she asks shocked, as though this would be the first time that she wouldn't need to assign the character to someone this year.

"Yes, ma'am," I her cheerfully.

"Well then, _limelight_ is yours," she tells me, as Alice whispers _good luck _in my ear, and then heads back to seat in the seats.

I take a deep breath, and then begin the most famous quote that everyone knew. Then _Don't Stop Believin'_ got stuck in my head again, and I had to make sure not to sing it.

_To be, or not to be, that is the question: _

_Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer_

_The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,_

_Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,_

_And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep,_

_No more; and by a sleep to say we end_

_The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks_

_That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation_

_Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;_

"You are the first person, to audition that far with that quote without having to read it," the director tells me happily.

"Thanks, I had Journey stuck in my head, and I had to make sure that I didn't sing while rehearsing," I confess to her.

"I assure you, you wouldn't have been the first," the director tells me. I didn't know how to take to that, but I just smiled again.

"By the way, what is your name?" she asks. I didn't think of that. Of course, she would ask me. I look at Alice, and then speak up.

"Kaden Wallace," I tell the director. If she had written Hudson down, and I had the part, the entire school would know, and I didn't want that.

"Alice, dear, you auditioning?" she asks Alice, as I walk down from the stage.

"No Mrs. Gerbear, not this time," Alice tells the director, and gets up from her seat.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell her your real name?" Alice asks, as we leave the auditorium.

"Because, isn't obvious? I thought out of everyone, you would understand," I half yell at her.

"I do," she answers, as I could tell that she was about to hit me or something.

"Then why do you have to ask why I didn't tell her? I told you, I want to keep it a secret, and if she found out, the entire school would know," I raise my voice a bit to her.

"What would be so wrong about that?" she asks.

"Because, I don't want the entire school to go, I'm sorry, and poof, I'm either the sob sorry of the school, or the popular new kid, and I don't want either," I tell her, just before I turn to walk away and head for Burt and Carole's.

Once, I got back to the house, I ran up the stairs to Finn's old room, and for once, played the crap out of his drum set.

"Whoa, what's the problem?" Burt asks, as he comes upstairs, and steps inside the room.

"I don't want to talk about it," I tell him truthfully, as I hold the drum sticks in my hand.

"Finn would do the same thing. He'd come in here, play the drums, not want to talk about it, because he didn't think just because I was his step dad, that I would understand it was about a girl, or about this or that," he tells me, and then he steps further in the bedroom.

"It's sort of about a girl," I tell him truthfully, and slightly smile.

"Ok, I got that part right," he tells me, as though that was off my shoulders.

"I told her my real name, and now she wants me to tell the entire school who I am, and I'm not ready for that," I tell him.

"Does she know that?" he asks, as I look him in the eyes.

"Yeah, I told her that," I tell him, as I sit down beside him on the bed, and get ready to my homework.

"Well Finn never had the problem, but he had many other girl problems. The best thing I can say is, tell her how you really feel, and if she doesn't accept that, than she probably wasn't a friend to begin with," he tells me, as he tried his best at fatherly advice.

"But the thing is, I trust her," I tell him. "She said she would keep my Hudson last name, a secret," I add.

Then the phone downstairs rang, and he got up to answer it.

"Burt, thanks," I tell him before he heads downstairs, and shuts the door behind him. Tomorrow, I would apologize to Alice, about the ass that I was to her earlier. That was, if she was talking to me, and I wouldn't blame her, if she wasn't.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

To be honest, I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter. Anyways, I'm not sure as to when I will update this story, because my two main proprieties are to update my two SYOC stories. I also at some point will update my Finchel story.

* * *

I arrive at McKinley early. Being as the old gym was open, I enter, and sit on the empty abandoned bleachers. I wondered since it was an old gym, and they built the new one in school, why they had left this one standing. I sit long enough to spot an lonely dusty basketball in the corner. I try to avoid picking it up, but being as I saw it, I had to get up, walk over, and pick it up.

I dust it off, and dribble it a bit, and then begin to play the ball for a bit. I shoot. I score. I go on for a few more minutes, and then decide to head to the main building. I wouldn't be good enough for the basketball team anyways.

"You kid," I hear someone shout out, as I exit the old gym. I stop and look for the direction of the voice. Then I spot the person.

"Yeah, you," he tells me, as he stops and looks at me for a moment, so he would know that he had my attention.

"The name isn't kid," I finally answer him back, as I adjust my backpack to where it would be more comfortable.

"Then what is it?" he asks curiously as his tired looking brown eyes meet mine.

"Kaden Hudson," I tell him without hesitation, and then I realize I had told him my first and last name. I stand there hoping that he wouldn't get the connection.

"You're good in there. You should consider trying out for the basketball team, they could use a player like you. They haven't played for a few years now, and you could be the all-star," he tells me, as I look down, and see that his uniform has the name _Albert_ sewn into.

"Thanks, but I don't play. I just dribble," I tell him jokingly. "But, I'll tell you what, I'll think about it," I tell him, as I finally decide to head to my locker, and get ready for class. Inside my head, I felt bad for lying to Albert, because I knew I wouldn't think about it.

"Alice," I call out, as I see her standing by my locker. I wouldn't be surprised if she was giving me the silent treatment. At the moment she was.

"Look, I know I was an ass yesterday, and I apologize about that. If you don't want to talk to me for the rest of the school year, then I'll understand," I add, as I open my locker, and take out my Spanish book.

In Spanish class, I take the front row. Shortly later, a medium length sandy blond haired girl comes in and sits in the next desk beside me. I hadn't seen her yesterday.

"¿Eres nuevo aquí?" I ask her curiously. She turns and looks at me. Her green eyes meeting my brown eyes.

"Do you speak English?" she asks with a quick giggle. I liked her.

"Yes, but in this class we speak Spanish," I speak up. "I'm Kaden," I tell her, as Mr. Schuester walks in, and writes his name on the whiteboard.

"I'm Mr. Schuester, you may call me Mr. Schue, if you would like, and most of this class will be spoken in Spanish. There will be a test every other week, mostly on Friday's depending how the schedule goes. I see a couple of faces that are new to me, so that's good," he introduces.

"Alright, so starting left from right, we'll be introducing ourselves, and saying one thing about in Spanish, and then translating," he tells us. "Being as I've already done that, we'll start with you," he tells the class, and points at me.

"Mi nombre es Kaden, y tocar la guitarra y la batería," I say in Spanish, and then I translate in English.

"My name is Kaden, and I play guitar and drums," I say, and then look over at the girl beside me, knowing that it was her turn.

"Mi nombre es Paige," is all she says, as though that was the only thing in Spanish she knew to say.

Finally class is done, and we head towards our lockers again.

"I could tutor you, if you want," I offer Paige, as she walks with me to my locker.

"I may need that, especially since I want to keep my grades up to be on the girls basketball team this season," she tells me happily. Now I wasn't sure if she was faking being bad at Spanish or not.

"Ok, be at 131 Westland Drive tonight at five thirty," I tell her as I grab my World History textbook, and then shut my locker. Knowing my luck, I was about to played. I was hoping not.

World History went by very slow, then came lunch followed by theater. I hadn't seen Alice since this morning, and I blamed myself for that.

After class, I head back to my locker to get my things for my final class of the day when suddenly out of nowhere Alice comes up to me.

"You ready to talk?" I ask coldly, as I look at her, and I could tell that she was plotting something inside that head of hers.

"I'm ready to make amends, and yes, I agree that you were an ass yesterday, but you know what? Finn could be at times as well. Hell, this high school of teenage boys who are," she tells me.

"Hey," I tell her, as though, I had taken offense to that, even though it was the truth.

"Shut up Kay, I have something that could fix this," she tells me, and waits until I have her full attention before she continues.

"You tryout for New Directions, it's the show choir here, and your brother joined, so I'm sure you can. You may even be better who knows," she tells me, in high hopes that I would say yes.

"What makes you think that I would join?" I ask as I reach my locker.

"Because, you're a Hudson, and if you don't have _Titanium_ stuck in your head, I would be shocked. So auditions are at two forty five in the music room," she tells me.

Great. To make amends with my friend, I would have to become my brother. That was one thing I didn't want. I grab my book, and head towards the class, when I pass the auditorium. One thing Alice was right about, I did have _Titanium_ stuck in my head. I stop, and go back to the auditorium.

I open the door, and head down to the empty stage. I look around to make sure that no one is around, and then ditch my back into one of the seats, and head up on stage. I take a deep breath, and then begin to sing.

_You shouted out_

_But I can't hear a word you say_

_I'm talking loud not saying much_

_I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet_

_You shoot me down, but I get up_

_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose_

_Fire away, fire away_

_Ricochet, you take your aim_

_Fire away, fire away_

_You shoot me down but I won't fall_

_I am titanium_

_You shoot me down but I won't fall_

_I am titanium_

That was all I could remember before I stopped. I walk down the stage and collect my backpack, and head for class, before I could get any later than what I already was. I'm sure that would place me in detention, or something of that sort.

"You have a good voice Kaden," I hear a recognizable voice, as I'm about to exit the auditorium. I should have known I was going to get caught.

"Thanks, singing tends to run in my family," I tell Mr. Schue. I was sure it was him. It sounded like him. It wasn't exactly a lie.

"You plan on joining New Directions? We could use a voice like yours," Mr. Schue tells me, trying as Alice had to convince me.

"I have to get to class," I tell him.

"You'll need a note, and Ms. Lansworth has a strict late attendance policy, so you may as well suck it up Kaden Hudson, and ," and that;s where I had cut him off.

"How did you know my last name?" I ask, forgetting that he was my Spanish teacher.

"You're my student. Besides, you stay here now, and help me out with auditions, I'll consider it your detention," he tells me happily.

"You're not blackmailing me are you?" I ask sardonically. "Because, I'm pretty sure that's against the policy of being a teacher," I add.

"I know that," he tells me as the final bell rings, and I decide to wait until I'm done to place my stuff in my locker.

An hour and a half later auditions were done, I dropped my stuff off at my locker and then headed home, so I could prepare for Paige showing up. If she showed up. I still wasn't sure if she would or not.

I was keeping to myself when some punk kid comes up from behind, and knocks me down.

"What the hell?" I ask, as soon as I hit the pavement, and I felt some blood. Then I recognized who it was. Lucas Haim.

"Give me your iPod," he demands, as he makes sure I stay on the ground where I am.

"Seriously dude. Does anyone even use iPod's anymore?" I ask trying to prove I seriously wouldn't be pissed off about an iPod I had since I lived in Arizona. I had even bought it for twenty dollars at a yard sale, but I figured he wouldn't need to know that. I was sure that Finn would have given him the iPod without hesitation, but I was different.

"Fine, whatever, but tomorrow is class, you shut up, and don't even let me see it, I don't want to see my nineteen eighties iPod," I tell him as I hand it over.

"What do you mean nineteen eighties?" he asks confused, and then punches me one more time before he continues to walk away. I recover a few minutes later, and then even though I'm in pain, I head home, trying to hide what had just happened from Carole and Burt.

I approach the house, and notice that neither of the vehicles are there, so I was happy with that. I really didn't want them to question me at the moment. I get inside, and head up to the bedroom that used to be Finn's, and throw my bag on the bed, then head to the bathroom to see the damage, and take some Advil. When I'm done, I head to back to the bedroom, and get ready to do my homework.

I dig my guitar out, and sit on the bed strumming it for a bit. Then I hear Burt's truck pull into the driveway.

I could hear him downstairs. I didn't know what he was doing, but I figured that would be alright, and then I decide to head downstairs to let he him I had someone coming over.

"Hi Burt," I greet, as I step inside the living room.

"You can call me dad, you know. Finn did after awhile," he tells me, as he grabs some of his plumbing equipment.

"Thanks," I tell him. I was wondering when it would be alright to call him dad, though it would still seem weird.

"I hope it's alright that I have a girl over, we're going to be working on our Spanish homework," I tell him, as he slips underneath the sink.

"You're a teenager, you're bound to have a girl over, as long as you let me know ahead of time. I will mention though that I will not tolerate sex in the house," he tells me.

"Then I guess that's an approval," I guess, as I was actually glad that he wasn't able to see my push down scars.

"That's an approval, so go get your homework started before she gets here," Burt tells me. Shortly I run back upstairs to get my homework started before Paige got there. I started to do what I was supposed to, then I shut my door, and began to sing again.

_I hopped off the plane at L.A.X._

_With a dream and my cardigan_

_Welcome to the land of fame excess,_

_Am I gonna fit in?_

_Jumped in the cab,_

_Here I am for the first time_

_Look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign_

_This is all so crazy_

_Everybody seems so famous_

_My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda home sick_

_Too much pressure and I'm nervous,_

_That's when the taxi man turned on the radio_

_And a Jay-Z song was on_

_And a Jay-Z song was on_

_And a Jay-Z song was on_

Then I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I tell the person behind the door. I was hoping it would be no one who would harass me for covering a Miley song, especially since I wasn't really a Miley fan.

"Wow, I didn't know that you could sing," Paige exclaims, as she walks in with her Spanish books in her hand.

"Then again, I didn't know that you were Finn's brother," she tells me, taking in what was once Finn's bedroom.

"How do you know I am?" I ask quickly, but I knew that she had already figured it.

"Easy, Finn Hudson lived here, and I used to be his cross road neighbor. That house over there, the window looking at Finn's room, that used to be my room," she tells me, as she places her textbook down on the bed right beside mine.

"Then, I guess there is no point in saying no is there?" I ask, as I sit down on the bed, and motion for her to sit on the bed beside me.

"Nope there isn't, and sooner or later, whether you want to admit it or not, the entire school will know that Finn Hudson has a younger brother," she tells me.

"I'm not ready for that," I tell her. "I mean, it's been a year, and he would have been twenty, and doing who knows what, and I still can't believe I never knew him when the entire school knew him, and I didn't," I tell her. As I get up, she notices the bruise that had been left by Lucas.

"What happened? You alright?" she asks concerned, as she abandoned the idea of the Spanish homework.

"Shhhh. Yeah, I'm fine, better than what I was before I took some Advil. I got beat up by Lucas Haim today," I tell her.

"Wait Lucas beat you up" she asks now making this a concern.

"Yeah, and it sucks," I tell her, as I look her in the eyes. "I don't really want Burt or Carole to know about this, I don't need the lecture," I tell her, as I sit back down on the bed to do the Spanish homework.

"Your secret is safe with me, and your secret is safe with me," she tells me, and then smiles.

"We should probably get some studying done," I mention to her.

"Wow, you really are as dumb as your brother could be at times," she tells me, and then rolls her eyes. I looked at her confused.

"entonces ¿por qué me lo preguntas a tu tutor," I ask her without looking at my book.

"Because, I need an excuse to talk to you," she tells me with a giggle. "You can still ask me questions in English," she adds, as she gets up and collects her Spanish book.

"I'm in class with you, why would you need an excuse to talk to me? I'm Finn Hudson's half brother, and if you wanted to hangout with me, you could have just asked," I tell her.

"Fine, how about tomorrow night? Have you seen the movie _Pitch Perfect_?" she asks before she leaves my room.

"Yeah plenty of times, that's where I memorized _Party in the USA _from," I tell her. "You do realize I have only been in school for a few days, so it's too early to have a relationship," I tell her.

"Kaden Whatever your middle name is Hudson, I wasn't asking for a date," she tells me with a smile, and that's when I knew that she really was, but neither one of us wanted to admit it.

"We'll still watch the movie, and I'll see you tomorrow," I tell her, as she leaves, and I walk down the stairs to walk her to the door.


End file.
